Navigating History: For Albany’s Streets, What’s in a Name?

Another word for place names is toponym, and the study of
those names is a discipline called toponymy. If you’ve ever wondered about the
inspiration for some of Albany’s street names—there are some weird ones, after
all, like Bacon Lane and Gingerbread Lane—you’re not alone! When you go a step
further and attempt to uncover the origins of those names, that makes you a toponymist!

In December 2018, a particularly-ambitious amateur
toponymist named Erik Schlimmer published Cradle of the Union: A Street by
Street History of New York’s Capital City. The book is the result of four
grueling years of research into the history of Albany’s streets: all 785 of
them. A lot of the names are simple—they’re named after soldiers or politicians
or inventors—but others have unique backstories that might amuse or even
frighten you. Anyone with even a cursory interest in the city’s history and
geography would be delighted to flip through the pages of Schlimmer’s
impressive compilation.

Albany has been around for a long time, so it might not
surprise you to learn that the names of many of its streets have been
changed—more than once, in some cases! For example, late in the 18th
century, streets with monikers that paid homage to the English nobility were
renamed after animals; King Street became Lion Street, while Queen and Duke
became Elk and Eagle, respectively. If you’re curious about these rebrandings,
as well as the history of Albany’s other historic avenues and boulevards,
Schlimmer’s book might deserve a place on your shelf.